For the first time since August 11, FCB Nyasa Big Bullets recorded their first TNM Super League with a 4-2 victory over Chitipa United at Kamuzu Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
It was a must-win game for Kalisto Pasuwa’s charges, who are struggling for points in the top-flight league, as they were coming from a 1-0 home defeat to Bangwe All Stars last Thursday.
What happened…
The defending champions looked bright from the start and immediately got a goal in the 2nd minute of the match.
Lloyd Aaron won the battle in the midfield before setting up Stanley Billiat in the offensive zone. The winger wasted no time by firing at goal and hitting the post but Babatunde Adepoju was at the right time as he made a simple tap-in to beat Dave Ndili in the line of duty, 1-0.
The intention to get more goals was clear as Bullets kept on pushing for more, the latest being Aaron whose shot missed the upright with an inch.
At this moment, the visitors were yet to launch their offensive in Bullets’ half, a clear indication of how intense the opening minutes were for them.
The hosts doubled their tally in the 17th minute. A free kick to Bullets closer to the penalty box.
Ernest Petro just laid the ball to Precious Sambani who released a thunderous shot that was just too much for Ndili to handle, 2-0.
Sensing danger, Christopher Nyambose made quick changes by bringing on board Ken Mlenga and Trouble Kajani for Francis Nyirenda and Godfrey Kuyokwa.
The hosts were not yet done with Chitipa United. On 22 minutes, it was 3-0. A cross from Gomezgani Chirwa caught the visitors off-guard in the line of duty as they struggled to clear the ball away from their area.
Babatunde smartly controlled the ball before shooting at goal to beat Ndili who was powerless to stop the ball from hitting the back of the net, 3-0.
With the half-hour mark played, a brilliant exchange of passes between Aaron, Babatunde, Billiat, and Ernest Petro almost resulted in a goal, but Petro’s volley was saved by Ndili for a corner kick, which was well defended by the visitors.
The first half ended without the visitors registering any shot at goal.
After the recess, Nyambose’s men came out good in the final half. They were in control of possession and they wasted no time by scoring in the 46th minute through Lamson Lukali outside the penalty box, beating Richard Chimbamba to his right-hand side, 3-1.
The hosts were completely disorganized and were under pressure to contain their opponents.
Bullets wanted to respond in the 48th minute through Billiat, but his shot was deflected out of the field of play for a corner kick, which was easily defended by Farhad Mtcheka.
The hosts suffered a massive blow in the 54th minute when Aaron suffered an injury and was replaced by Frank Willard while Maxwell Phodo came in for Chikumbutso Salima.
The dimension of the game completely changed as the visitors were now in control of possession, putting Pasuwa’s charges under intense pressure, and had they scored another goal, we were assured of a nervous thirty minutes.
With our midfield in disarray, Pasuwa brought in Chawanangwa Gumbo for Petro in the 66th minute to try to regain control of the middle of the field.
Chances were minimal, but Chitipa United kept on dominating the play with their brilliant sense of touches all over the pitch.
Nyambose brought in Stimela Muyira for Jackson Beza. However, Bullets eased the pressure in the 81st minute through Phodo’s powerful header from Sambani’s brilliant cross into the box, 4-1.
But despite the goal, the hosts were still under pressure as they kept on losing possession unnecessarily.
With five minutes left to play, Muyira scored for the visitors. Chirwa pressed in the opposition’ half and got injured when he delivered a cross into the box. From there, the visitors launched a counter-attack through Ramadhan Ntafu, who released Muyira to the far left, and the winger made no mistake to slot the ball past Chimbamba, 4-2.
The hosts almost restored their 3-goal advantage, but Phodo’s header in the 90th minute missed Ndili’s right-hand post with an inch, and after 90 minutes of play, Bullets registered their sixth victory of the season with a 4-2 win over the relegation-threatened side.
The win takes Bullets to 9th position with 27 points from 18 games and their next assignment is another home game against Creck Sporting Club on Wednesday.
As for Chitipa, they are still stuck in the bottom three with 17 points from 21 points.
At Silver Stadium, an Own Goal from Mike Ntonyo was enough to inspire Silver Strikers to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Kamuzu Barracks to open up a seven-point lead over the second-placed Mighty Mukuru Wanderers in the title race.
It was a tough assignment for Peter Mponda’s charges, who needed a win to widen the gap with Wanderers, who convincingly won 10-0 against Baka City on Saturday.
The win takes them to 48 points from 20 games while KB are sixth with 31 points from 21 games.
At Dedza Stadium, Civil Service United became the first team this season to record a win at Dedza Stadium as Festus Duwe’s 60th-minute strike sealed the points for the Lilongwe-based side over Dedza Dynamos. The win has moved Abbas Makawa’s men into 5th position with 31 points from 21 games while their opponents have dropped to 11th position with 24 points from 20 games.
At Karonga Stadium, Karonga United hammered Mafco FC 3-1 to the 8th position with 29 points from 21 games. A brace from Blessings Mwalilino and a lone strike from Alfred Chizinga sealed the points for the Northern Region-based side, while Peter Kasonga scored Mafco’s consolation goal.
At Mzuzu Stadium, Mzuzu City Hammers and Mighty Tigers played out to a goalless draw.
